Symptom Reporting Patterns of US Military Service Members with a History of Concussion According to Duty Status

AbstractBackgroundResearch is needed to identify the factors that explain the link between prior and future suicidality. This study evaluated possible mediators of the relationship between: (1) the severity of prior suicidality and (2) suicidal ideation severity at 3-month follow-up among a sample of high-risk military personnel.MethodsUS military service members referred to or seeking care for suicide risk (N = 624) completed self-report psychiatric domain measures and a clinician interview assessing prior suicidality severity at baseline. Three months later, participants completed a self-report measure of suicidal ideation severity. Three separate percentile bootstrap mediation models were used to examine psychiatric factors (i.e. alcohol abuse, anxiety sensitivity, hopelessness, insomnia, posttraumatic stress symptoms, suicidal ideation, and thwarted belongingness) as parallel mediators of the relationship between prior suicidality severity (specifically, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and overall suicidality – i.e. ideation/attempt severity combined) at baseline and suicidal ideation severity at follow-up.ResultsHopelessness, specifically, and the total effect of all mediators, each significantly accounted for the relationship between prior suicidality severity and subsequent ideation severity across models. In the models with attempt severity and overall suicidality severity as predictors, thwarted belongingness was also a significant mediator.ConclusionsHopelessness, thwarted belongingness, and overall severity of psychiatric indices may explain the relationship between prior suicidality severity and future suicidal ideation severity among service members at elevated suicide risk. Research is needed to replicate these findings and examine other possible mediators.

Download Full-text

Time Since Injury as a Factor in Post-Concussion Symptom Reporting among Military Service Members with Blast-Related Concussion

Journal of Neurotrauma ◽

10.1089/neu.2020.7334 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Andrew MacGregor ◽

Kaeley Shannon ◽

Amber L Dougherty

Keyword(s):

Military Service ◽

Symptom Reporting ◽

Service Members ◽

Military Service Members ◽

Time Since Injury

Download Full-text

A-116 Predicting Chronic Neurobehavioral Symptoms based on Acute Injury Characteristics and Symptoms in U.S. Military Service Members with and without history of TBI

Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology ◽

10.1093/arclin/acaa068.116 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 35 (6) ◽

pp. 909-909

Author(s):

Lippa S ◽

Bailie J ◽

Brickell T ◽

French L ◽

Hungerford L ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Traumatic Brain Injury ◽

Brain Injury ◽

Military Service ◽

Service Members ◽

Injury Characteristics ◽

Military Service Members ◽

History Of ◽

Neurobehavioral Symptoms ◽

Severe Tbi

Abstract Objective Recovery following traumatic brain injury (TBI) is complex. Often following mild TBI, recovery occurs within days or weeks, though this is not always the case. Following more severe TBI, some recover quickly, while many never fully recover. This study examines acute predictors of chronic neurobehavioral symptoms in U.S. military service members (Age: M = 33.9 years, SD = 10.2) without injury (n = 86), or with history of uncomplicated mild traumatic brain injury (TBI; n = 56), complicated mild, moderate, or severe TBI (mod-sev TBI; n = 43), or bodily injury (n = 25). Method Participants completed the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist, Alcohol Use Disorder Checklist, Combat Exposure Scale, and TBI Quality of Life and passed symptom validity tests at 0–8 months and ≥ 2 years post-injury. Forward stepwise logistic regression included 26 potential predictors (demographics, injury characteristics, military characteristics, and self-report measures at baseline) of International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems-10 Postconcussional Syndrome (PCSy) at follow-up. Results Cognitive Concerns (Exp(B) = .896, p = .001), Sleep (Exp(B) = 1.874, p < .001), Somatosensory Symptoms (Exp(B) = 1.194, p = .012), and mod-sev TBI (Exp(B) = 2.959, p = .045) significantly predicted follow-up PCSy. When baseline NSI symptoms were removed from the model, Cognitive Concerns (Exp(B) = .902, p < .001), Post-traumatic stress (Exp(B) = 1.173, p = .001), and Resilience (Exp(B) = .950, p < .031) significantly predicted PCSy. For all included measures in both models, higher symptoms at baseline predicted increased likelihood of follow-up PCSy. Both models correctly classified 81.3% of participants. Conclusion Findings suggest patients reporting psychological distress and cognitive concerns acutely should be targeted for treatment to mitigate prolonged neurobehavioral symptoms.

Download Full-text

Validity of the CES-D for depression screening in military service members with a history of mild traumatic brain injury

Brain Injury ◽

10.1080/02699052.2019.1610191 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 33 (7) ◽

pp. 932-940

Author(s):

J E Kennedy ◽

M W Reid ◽

L H Lu ◽

D B Cooper

Keyword(s):

Traumatic Brain Injury ◽

Brain Injury ◽

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury ◽

Military Service ◽

Depression Screening ◽

Service Members ◽

Military Service Members ◽

History Of

Download Full-text

Investigating the reliability of suicide attempt history reporting across five measures: A study of US military service members at risk of suicide

Journal of Clinical Psychology ◽

10.1002/jclp.22776 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 75 (7) ◽

pp. 1332-1349 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Melanie A. Hom ◽

Ian H. Stanley ◽

Mary E. Duffy ◽

Megan L. Rogers ◽

Jetta E. Hanson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Suicide Attempt ◽

Military Service ◽

Service Members ◽

Us Military ◽

Military Service Members

Download Full-text

Missing Voices

Armed Forces & Society ◽

10.1177/0095327x11428786 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 38 (3) ◽

pp. 391-412 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

James S. Krueger ◽

Francisco I. Pedraza

Keyword(s):

Public Opinion ◽

Military Service ◽

Public Support ◽

Service Members ◽

Congressional Election ◽

Election Study ◽

Us Military ◽

Military Service Members ◽

War In Iraq

Public opinion studies on war attitudes say little about civilians who are related to military service members. The authors argue that military “service-connected” individuals are missing voices in the research that examines public support for war. Using over 50,000 observations from the 2010 Cooperative Congressional Election Study, the authors estimate attitudes toward the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, and the use of US military troops in general. The authors find that service-connected civilians express greater support for war and the use of troops than civilians without such a connection. This study discusses the implications of these findings for theoretical advancements in the literature addressing war attitudes and the conceptualization of the “civil–military gap.”

Download Full-text